Konami has addressed some rumors that have been flying around about Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Gamers have become worried about the inclusion of microtransactions and coming out of E3, Konami has confirmed that microtransactions are in the game.
Motherboard spotted the confirmation from the first minute or so from the Metal Gear Solid V E3 demo, where Konami had this message for the fans...
There is no pay to win option. Rest assured that every single item, weapon and mission is available to all players without paying a single cent. However, the sheer scale of the game and the time required to explore it all – microtransactions have been added as a completely optional feature for players who might not be able to spend as much time in the game. Nothing more, nothing less.
Except there is more... because the common thread that links gamers' hate toward microtransactions to announcements like this is this one simple question: why not have cheat codes?
If some gamers are so desperate to cheat through the game to unlock new missions, weapons, accessories and goods, why not just cheat?
What's worse is that it is literally paying to win. Konami says that it's not "paying to win" but if you don't have time to win these things on your own and you pay for it, then what is that exactly? Exchanging currency for victory?
And even worse than that is this new culture of teaching people that it's okay to pay to cheat through life. Not good enough at a game? Pay to win. Can't get the trophy like these more skilled players? Pay to win. Need that fancy, high-powered gun that that one player unlocked after investing hundreds of hours into the game? Pay to win.
It's a strange mixed message insofar that when you get to real sports there's an opprobrious culture levied against players who use performance enhancing drugs to excel at the game. In that case, paying to win is frowned upon, chastised and punished. Yet at the same time we have game culture teaching you that if you don't have time to win honestly, you just pay for it. It's no surprise that there have been some rather deplorable cheating scandals that rocked the eSports scene in gaming. And keep in mind that the electronic sporting industry is worth hundreds of millions of dollars, as reported by LazyGamers.
While Konami may see microtransactions in a $60 game as “nothing more” and “nothing less”, it contributes to the culture of unearned rewards. Before, if you cheated in a game you were deducted points, restricted from earning achievements or denied leaderboard presence... but now, you're glorified for it.
Nevertheless, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is shaping up to be one of the more talked about, desired and hotly anticipated games of the fall season. Gamers have been clamoring to learn more about it as Hideo Kojima preps to depart from Konami under less than auspicious circumstances.
Even still, I do wonder how well gamers will continue to appreciate Metal Gear Solid V and the multiplayer online component when they're dealing with people who may attempt to purchase their way through victory whenever possible?
Paying to win didn't just magically become a hated monetary paradigm in the gaming community for no reason, and Konami should be wary in how they fill out their cash shop for one of the biggest releases of 2015.
